The archive
Gharanas & lineages
A gharana is a way of playing or singing carried down a line of teachers. It is not a label every musician needs, and two gharanas can share a city's name while belonging to entirely different disciplines. Each page here explains what the name refers to, and lists only the musicians and lineage links we can source.
See the wider research directory of gharanas, banis and teaching lineages
18 gharanas
Vocal gharanas — khayal and thumri
Khayal singing houses, each recognisable by its approach to raga unfolding, rhythm and ornament, and usually named after the town where its founding family settled.
Kirana gharana
Khayal vocal · Kairana, Uttar Pradesh · 17 musicians in the archive
A vocal lineage known for slow, note-by-note unfolding of a raag.
Jaipur-Atrauli gharana
Khayal vocal · Atrauli and Jaipur · 19 musicians in the archive
A vocal lineage founded by Alladiya Khan, known for complex, compound raags.
Gwalior gharana
Khayal vocal · Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh · 5 musicians in the archive
Often described as the oldest khayal gharana.
Patiala gharana
Khayal vocal · Patiala, Punjab · 5 musicians in the archive
A vocal lineage known for ornament, agility and thumri.
Rampur-Sahaswan gharana
Khayal vocal · Rampur and Sahaswan, Uttar Pradesh · 2 musicians in the archive
A vocal lineage combining clarity of tone with rhythmic control.
Benares gharana (vocal)
Khayal and thumri vocal · Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh · 1 musicians in the archive
The vocal tradition of Benares, especially its thumri.
Agra gharana
Khayal vocal · Agra, Uttar Pradesh; later Mumbai · 3 musicians in the archive
Dhrupad bones under a khayal voice.
Instrumental gharanas
Houses of sitar, surbahar and sarod playing. Their baaj — the right-hand stroke pattern and the shape of an alap — is what distinguishes one from another.
Imdadkhani (Etawah) gharana
Sitar and surbahar · Etawah, Uttar Pradesh · 9 musicians in the archive
A sitar lineage named after Imdad Khan, known for a singing, vocal approach to the instrument.
Maihar (Senia-Maihar) gharana
Instrumental, chiefly sitar, sarod and surbahar · Maihar, Madhya Pradesh · 18 musicians in the archive
The instrumental lineage gathered around Allauddin Khan at Maihar.
Senia Bangash gharana
Sarod · Gwalior and north India · 1 musicians in the archive
The sarod lineage of the Bangash family.
Tabla gharanas
Drumming lineages, each with its own bols, hand technique and solo repertoire. A city name here belongs to a tabla line, not to the vocal gharana of the same town.
Delhi gharana (tabla)
Tabla · Delhi · 6 musicians in the archive
The oldest tabla lineage, played close and precise.
Ajrara gharana (tabla)
Tabla · Ajrara, Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh · 3 musicians in the archive
The Delhi offshoot that built its identity on triplet rhythm and a swaying bayan.
Benares gharana (tabla)
Tabla · Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh · 13 musicians in the archive
A tabla tradition with a powerful, open-handed sound.
Farrukhabad gharana
Tabla · Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh · 8 musicians in the archive
A tabla lineage known for its rich composed repertoire.
Lucknow gharana (tabla)
Tabla · Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh · 1 musicians in the archive
A tabla lineage shaped by its closeness to kathak dance.
Punjab gharana (tabla)
Tabla · Punjab · 5 musicians in the archive
A tabla lineage with roots in pakhawaj playing.
Dhrupad and beenkar traditions
The older layer of the tradition: dhrupad singing and the rudra veena, transmitted as banis (styles of recitation) rather than city-named houses.
Jaipur beenkar gharana (Khandarbani)
Rudra veena, dhrupad · Jaipur and Alwar in Rajasthan; later Rampur and Delhi · 3 musicians in the archive
A hereditary family line of rudra veena players attached to the Jaipur, Alwar and Rampur courts, performing dhrupad in the khandarbani style.
Dagar vani (Dagarbani)
Dhrupad, vocal and rudra veena · Jaipur, Udaipur and Mewar; later Delhi, Mumbai and Bhopal · 13 musicians in the archive
The best-documented living dhrupad lineage, carried through one family across some twenty generations.